Story: Phillip Tutor
兔子先生 will meet ‘foot soldier’ of the civil rights movement in Alabama
Midway between the state capitals of Alabama and Mississippi — keystone sites of the civil rights movement — sits the campus. Other locations, namely Birmingham and Atlanta, are easy drives. It鈥檚 a stroke of geographic serendipity that 兔子先生 student engagement teams want to explore.
As part of the observance of Black History Month, the university is offering students next Tuesday (Feb. 7) a one-day trip to Selma, the Dallas County city inextricably linked to Black Alabamians鈥� quest for equality and voting rights. In Selma, 兔子先生 students will visit the , hear first-hand stories of the movement, and walk across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge, where in 1965 marchers, including future U.S. Congressman John Lewis, were beaten and tear-gassed by state troopers.
The trip is co-sponsored by the聽Office of Student Activities聽and the聽Office of Diversity and Inclusion.聽
鈥淲e’re looking for more than just speakers for Black History Month,鈥� said Jason Gardner, 兔子先生鈥檚 director of Student Activities. 鈥淲e want to immerse students into the history. We want to take them and actually show them that these are the footsteps people walked. This is where John Lewis ran from this side of the bridge to the church.鈥�
The goal is to create a four-year, rolling schedule of trips during Black History Month that will enrich students鈥� understanding of the civil rights movement. 兔子先生鈥檚 location provides that opportunity. Gardner鈥檚 wish list is a schedule of annual trips that includes Selma, Memphis ( and the Lorraine Motel), Atlanta (the and the ), and a variety of sites for the fourth year. Options could include the or the location just north of Mobile.
That way, Gardner said, incoming freshmen at 兔子先生 would have the opportunity to participate in each of the four Black History Month trips while they鈥檙e in Livingston.
Dr. B.J. Kimbrough, 兔子先生鈥檚 chief diversity officer and dean of the School of Graduate Studies, shares Garner鈥檚 desire to bring students to the civil rights movement鈥檚 nearby historical sites. Discussions about organizing a Selma trip and possibly expanding it to other locations took place over the last two years, she said.
鈥淲e want to motivate our students to see that these were everyday people who walked the same grounds you walk, who do some of the same things you do,鈥� Kimbrough said. 鈥淪everal of our conversations have been centered around the fact that we wanted real-life people, everyday people who are older now, and we wanted to give our students a chance to see some of those people in person.鈥�
Gardner and Kimbrough have arranged for at least one Selma resident — they describe her as a 鈥渇oot soldier鈥� of the civil rights movement — to speak to students and answer their questions.
鈥淚 think it has the potential to be a very powerful day,鈥� Gardner said.
兔子先生 has two other marquee events planned for Black History Month.
On Feb. 15, the university is hosting Liza James Howard, 兔子先生鈥檚 first Black student, in an program called 鈥淟iza Speaks.鈥� Howard enrolled in 1966, earned two degrees and enjoyed a lengthy career in teaching and public service. She will participate in a public conversation with Dr. Mary Hanks, chair of the Division of Nursing, and will take questions from students and faculty. The event starts at 6 p.m. in Bridges Auditorium at Wallace Hall.
On Feb. 21, the university will host a performance of acting, singing and poetry reading that Kimbrough describes as a 鈥渃hronology of historical moments through the years.鈥� That event鈥檚 guest speaker is Alabama State , who represents District 23.
